8 policemen killed in ambush at North Samar while NPA gloats on success of tactical offensive

TACLOBAN CITY-  Eight members of the Philippine National Police, including a junior officer, were killed in an ambush around 7:45 of Saturday, August 21, in an interior village in Catarman, capital town of Northern Samar.
Northern Samar PNP provincial director Sr. Supt. Brigido Unay, in a phone interview, said that the police troops coming from the Catarman police station led by Sr. Insp. Nicasio San Antonio were aboard a patrol car on their way to Barangay Imelda, some 10 kilometers away from the town proper, when two suspected land mines detonated, hitting the patrol car.
The policemen were on their way to investigate the killion of a barangay councilor the night before. One barangay kagawad Rolando de Guia was reportedly the victim of a summary execution of the NPA, and the police troopers were going to the barangay to investigate the matter.
The troopers were subsequently sprayed with heavy fire and after killing all eight PNP members, their attackers took away their weapons, uniforms and other valuable items. The ambushers, suspected to be members of the New People’s Army operating in the area, were estimated to be 40-men strong.
“All of the policemen inside the patrol car were actually killed  and their firearms seized. They (the NPA) planted at least two explosive landmines and took up ambush on a road into the barangay and fired on the police troops in the burning vehicle”, Col.Unay said.
The 40 armed rebels, added Unay, took away with them seven pistols and four assault rifles from the slain officers, who were also stripped of their uniforms.
The fatalities were identified as PO2 Rey Estarun,  SPO1 Julio, PO2 Tabuhay, PO3 Simon Saludario, PO3 Estoneria , SPO2 Michael Velarde and one PO2 Catunjay. They were immediately rushed to Northern Samar provincial hospital but all were declared dead on arrival.
On the other hand, in a statement from the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas sent to various media outlets this Sunday, August 22, the NDF said that the offensive was the handiwork of the Efren Martires Command.
The statement proceeds to gloat about the “NPA’s successful tactical offensive against the Philippine National Police within the provincial capital of Catarman”.
The statement also explains that the death of village councilor Rolando de Guia was a punishment for “espionage”.
The statement said the “expected enemy reinforcements were then ambushed by the people’s army, who used command-detonated explosives (which are manually set off) to disable their vehicle.” The statement confirms confiscating “at least seven pistols and four M16 rifles.”
Meanwhile, the statement adds that “Ka Karlos Manuel”, reportedly the spokesman of the Efren Martires Command, “belies the claims by Sr. Supt. Vicente Loot, PNP deputy regional director for operations, that the policemen were not on combat operations and that the NPA captured and then executed them”.
“Regular forces of the police and military are clearly legitimate targets for NPA tactical offensives. As can also be seen from the weapons taken from them, the policemen were heavily-armed and battle-ready and were accordingly killed in action. Moreover, the NPA always gives enemy combatants the chance to surrender if they could no longer fight. The NPA abides by international humanitarian law in respecting the rights of captured enemy combatants as well the hors d’ combat. Wounded enemy personnel are also taken care of by NPA medics. The PNP seems to be covering up its embarrassment because the NPA could carry out a tactical offensive within the provincial capital and close to the town proper at that”, the statement adds.
The NPA in Eastern Visayas adds that the tactical offensive was just a beginning and there are “more to come” as the NPA’s answer to the Aquino regime’s extension of Oplan Bantay Laya.
The statement then continues to slam the Aquino administration saying, instead of discussing socio-economic reforms, it is extending Oplan Bantay Laya “which has been widely condemned for political killings and other attacks on innocent civilians”.
“Thus”, the statement continues, “the NPA is defending the people and delivering the message to the Aquino regime that Oplan Bantay Laya and any other plan of fascist state terrorism will be defeated” and that it will be launching even more tactical offensives. With a report from Lalaine M. Jimenea

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Tagged as: ambush, Army, assault rifles, barangay, capital, car, interior village, Laya, national democratic front, Northern Samar, offensive, Patrol, Philippine National Police, PNP, police troops, provincial director, summary execution, tacloban city, vehicle, way